As Champions League nights go, this must go down as one of, if not the most inept and disappointing performances of Arsene Wengers 19 year tenure at Arsenal as the hosts were spanked 3.1 by a hard working Monaco team in London last night. This was no Bayern or Barcelona where Arsenal could be forgiven for losing to top opposition; this was different. This was Arsenal being comprehensively out-thought, out-manoeuvered and out-worked all over the park with the end result so comprehensive that Monaco's place in the next round seems a forgone conclusion even before the return of the 2nd leg; for Arsenal and Wenger this is an inexcusable display that will come with big questions and an inevitable backlash. The likes of Mesut Ozil and Per Mertesacker were two of the biggest culprits on a night of shame for The Gunners and yet you have to ask why? how is possible? 2 World Cup winners? how can it be this bad? how can they look so out of their depth? How can they play like lost school kids?
Tactically Arsenal were a mess and it is clear that the likes of Coquelin, Mertesacker, and Bellerin are simply not good enough for this level of competition. You can pack your forward positions with as many shiny stars as you like (and clearly Arsene does) but if there is no grit, no ball winner and no-one to actually organise and galvanise then it matters not. Graeme Souness described them as a team of "son in-laws" and that is not far off the mark. Too nice? perhaps but it is a weak excuse in the world of professional football where effort, determination and passion should be pre-requisites and not so evidently lacking in a supposed top team. Of course their ability to take a selfie on aeroplane remains undiminished as does their ability to score wonder goals against Hull and Burnley. This really was a low ebb for Arsenal and for Wenger and of course my anger is somewhat enhanced by the fact I had believed in them so heavily to get the job done. From a betting perspective, the lesson to be learned is two fold; No more Arsenal and less bets on a night when the options were limited. I was confident in an Arsenal win but perhaps with hindsight, it would have been a night where the stakes were a little smaller. In the end I was bang on with my Championship prediction as Forest beat Bournemouth with the BTTS and win (tipped up at 9/2) and in the other Champions League tie I did warn punters off Atletico (Despite being swayed into backing them on my low stakes line) and they were duly beaten 1.0 in Leverkusen. Listen to yourself Bo. So it was a night when i won nothing and I am feeling ever so disappointed in a team that I enjoy so much on their day. Arsene Wenger is a legitimate legend of English football and is a gentleman to boot. His status as an icon in the game is surely well established but questions now need to be asked of the Frenchman's future. How many more years can Arsenal accept these failures? There is more than a sense of deja-vous when it comes to Arsenal. In fact, Groundhog day would perhaps be a more fitting comparison. At least Bill Murray made me smile. Arsenal made me sick. It’s often said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result and while that might be old hat and something of a cliche, with Arsenal and Wenger it fits so perfectly that there may well be an image of the poor man struggling to zip his coat up next to this oft well trotted out verse. Since the departure of Patrick Vieira Arsenal have lacked a spine, a ball winner in midfield, an old-fashioned centre back and a dominating captain and somehow all these years later the same issues remain unresolved. If Wenger cannot solve these issues then he should step aside and let someone else have a go because it is simply inexcusable for Arsenal to be bundled out of Europe in such a weak limbed manner against opposition as modest as this. Previously there was the money argument but having spunked close to 80 million on two forwards there can be no excuses for fielding a team with Francis Coqulein in centre midfield and Per Mertesacker at the back. I'm sorry but it is simply not good enough for Arsenal anymore and as one of Wenger's most passioned supporters, it truly pains me to admit that perhaps at the end of this season, it will be time for the great man to handover the baton. Wednesday Results Overall total staked - 5.6 Points Total Returned - 0 Points New Overall Balance - 88.3 Points It was a really big setback tonight and I will need to refocus my energies and return to winning ways. Let us not forget that over the course of 3 midweek nights last week, I returned a 10 point profit and while this week has been hard on us, there is still a long way to go in this challenge and I will remain upbeat that we can turn this around in the coming days. Comments are closed.
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